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October 14, 2026

Charlotte TD Club Defender of the Nation Award Player Profile: The Citadel’s Nikolas Mirabella

THE CITADEL’S NIKOLAS MIRABELLA

The Citadel’s Nikolas Mirabella
6’ 0” 210 lbs., Tampa, FLAthletic Bio & Honors
(2025): Appeared in 11 games for the Bulldogs…registered 20 total tackles, including 13 solo and 2.0 tackles-for-loss…posted a new career-best eight tackles in a road win at Samford…also logged one fumble recovery.(2024): Appeared in all 12 games…recorded eight total tackles…compiled a career-high four total tackles and a tackle for loss against South Carolina State…recovered a fumble against Furman along with two tackles…recorded a tackle against Wofford.High School / Personal: Competed for East Lake High School under head coach Bob Hudson…two-year team captain…All-County first team choice…led team to regional championship as a junior. Son of Jen Katz and Mark Mirabella.

Maurice Drayton, Head Football Coach: “Nik Mirabella exemplifies the leadership, integrity and character this award represents. He leads by example, excels in the classroom and on the field, and consistently treats others with respect. Most importantly, Nik is someone who does the right thing even when no one is watching. He is truly deserving of this recognition, and I’m proud he’s a key member of not just this football program, but this proud institution.”

The recipient of the Defender of the Nation Award will be announced on October 22nd from one of the Nation’s (15) military academies and ROTC programs including Air Force Academy, Appalachian State University, Auburn University, The Citadel, Coast Guard Academy, Naval Academy, Norwich University, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Syracuse University, Texas A&M University, Villanova, Virginia Tech, VMI, and West Point and is based on exceptional leadership qualities on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The recipient must also exhibit a high standard of integrity by leading through example.
In conjunction with the Football Writers Association of America, the 2026 Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet will be held on Monday, December 7th, at the Charlotte Convention Center. In addition to honoring the Defender of the Nation Award winner, the banquet will celebrate the recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Legends Award. Unive

rsity of Oklahoma’s Tony Casillas will be honored as the 2026 Legends Award recipient, and Mack Brown, Former Head Coach of UNC and Texas, is slated as the keynote speaker.

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ABOUT THE CHARLOTTE TOUCHDOWN CLUB
The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. Sinc

e its inception, the club has grown as well as diversified boasting a sponsor team of more than (80) companies. The Club’s activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship, and Leadership of area athletes and coaches. Through individual and corporate support, more than $3,000,000 has been raised and donated to benefit the Touchdown Club’s scholarship efforts.
ABOUT CAPITAL GROUP OF COMPANIES
Rick Hughes has a successful 47-year track record in the automotive finance and insurance industry. Rick worked with publicly held NY Stock Exchange companies, setting up their F&I Programs. Rick worked with Sonic Automotive on setting up their F&I Program, with NCADA to form and market their NC Life program and industry-leading programs to increase dealer revenue. Prior to starting Capital Automotive, Rick was the Director of Business Development for one of the world’s largest automotive finance product and service companies. Rick coordinated various international field forces, presented at BSF and CEO Ninety, and personally developed hundreds of successful dealership personnel. As CEO of the Capital Companies, he created Flex-Pro, a patented program that allows an additional income stream coupled with products, insurance, and reinsurance administrative services. The Capital Companies refers to four unique companies: Capital Benefits Group—Structures custom benefit options based on your business needs, Capital Automotive—Gives dealerships the edge they need to meet and exceed their goals, Capital Processing Systems—Provides state-of-the-art products, administration, insurance and reinsurance services to complement dealership and shareholder financial goals, and Data Dot Dealer Services—Least expensive, most effective anti-theft deterrent ever created. We are a group of companies that work together to help dealers capitalize on their investments. We keep our clients in the game and moving toward the goal line through our consumer and client-centric products and administrative services.

ABOUT VETERANS BRIDGE HOME
Veterans Bridge Home connects Veterans and their families, in any state of transition, to the community. Through our network of partners, we help Veterans navigate employment, create social connections, and settle their families. We look at the whole Veteran and connect them to the resources needed to be successful and thriving leaders in our community. Veterans Bridge Home serves as an entry point for Veterans who don’t know where to turn to access support and services. Because Veterans return home to a civilian community and not to federal agencies or bureaucracies, each community must reach out and actively assist in the reintegration process alongside federal agencies such as the Veterans Administration. The Carolinas have the opportunity and privilege to help bring our nation’s warriors and their families home with the same energy and commitment that our Veterans have displayed in serving our nation. In so doing, ours will serve as a leader to inform other communities that wish to create more welcoming and livable communities for returning Veterans and their families.

PREVIOUS DEFENDER OF THE NATION AWARD RECIPIENTS
2025 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: VMI’s Kouri Crump
2024 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: Norwich University’s Shayne Leddy
2023 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: U.S. Air Force Academy Kyle Johnson
2022 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: Virginia Tech’s Dax Hollifield
2021 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: U.S. Military Academy’s Arik Smith
2019 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: U.S. Air Force Academy Kyle Johnson
2018 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: U.S. Naval Academy’s Sean Williams
2017 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: VMI’s Greg Sanders
2016 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: U.S. Military Academy’s Andrew King

2026 DEFENDER OF THE NATION PLAYER PROFILES
• September 3: U.S. Naval Academy / Coleman Cauley
• September 10: Ole Miss / Will Echoles
• September 16: U.S. Air Force / Blake Fletcher
• September 17: Appalachian State / Colton Phares
• September 23: VMI / Isaiah Grevious
• September 24: Virginia Tech / Kemari Copeland
• September 30: West Point / Stephen Nnadozie
• October 1: Syracuse / Josh Kubala
• October 7: Texas A&M / Marcus Ratcliffe
• October 8: Villanova / Omari Bursey
• October 14: The Citadel / Nikolas Mirabella
• October 22: Defender of the Nation Recipient Announced

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